Lamentations, Trials, and Tribulations
by MickiStarlight
Summary: King Roland struggles with his negligence, and tries to make up for it by spending more time with his children. However, in doing so, he learns that he doesn't know James quite as well as he previously thought he did... Has scenes of Roland/Miranda, but it's not the center of the story. Kinda also has James/Zandar, but, once again, it's not the center of the story.
1. Lamentations Part 1

Roland suddenly awoke from his slumber. The pen he was writing with, still firmly clenched in his hand. Apparently, he'd overworked himself and passed out. "I do this to myself..." He thought, before deciding that beating himself up wasn't going to do anybody good, and that he should get back to work. Eventually, after a few minutes of motivating himself, he rubbed the sleep off his eyes to see what he had left to do.

He could see that there were several stacks of paperwork still waiting to be written. Seeing that triggered him into remembering that there were still several events he had to attend, and still... Birthday plans to make.

Amber and James' 10th Birthday, to be exact. "They're hitting double-digits already?" He asked nobody in particular, feeling like he was way out of the loop with his kids. That sad fact having everything to do with the fact that Roland wasn't a very attentive father.

King Roland wanted to be an attentive father. He really did. If he had his way, he'd already **be** an attentive father, but his job always got in the way... at least, that's what he liked to think whenever his conscience guilted him over it. Whenever that happened, he'd call in Baileywick to vent to, which was what he was about to do now.

"Baileywick?" Roland called, hoping to get the usual answer.

Lucky for him, he did. "Yes, sire?" Baileywick responded, sounding relatively close to his room.

"I... I need someone to vent to." Roland admitted. He honestly felt like a burden to Baileywick sometimes. Always asking him to help whenever something was wrong with him, always keeping him from his work, but he and Baileywick both knew that he himself would be a burden to the kingdom if he kept all that was bothering him inside and never took the time to let it all out like he did.

Baileywick immediately entered the room as soon as he heard him. "What's the matter, sire?" Baileywick asked, with a tenderness more befitting a mother to her child. Though, that wasn't entirely unfitting, since the relationship between the two was very similar to that.

"It's the usual..." Roland said, regretfully, while hanging his head low in shame. They'd done this several times, and he never did anything afterward to make sure he wouldn't have to do it again.

"It's alright, Rollie. Just talk to me." Baileywick said, with a less formal tone than usual, while putting a reassuring hand on the King's shoulder.

"It's just that... it's their tenth birthday, Baileywick. They're turning ten, and I've got so much to do that I might not even be there at their party! I should be spending time with them, making memories, being a father to them... but instead I'm stuck here doing paperwork and attending events..." Roland lamented. Burying his face into his hands in a rare moment of hopelessness from the King.

Baileywick couldn't help but feel sorry for the King. He'd known him for a very long time and didn't like to see him like this. Still, he knew when he needed a scolding (albeit, a gentle one) and this was one of those times.

"May I be allowed to speak freely, your grace?" Baileywick politely asked, wanting to first be sure that he wasn't overstepping his boundaries.

"Yes. Yes, Baileywick, you may." The King answered, still feeling relatively useless.

"Thank you, my King." Baileywick said. He took a deep breath to calm himself before saying anything. He knew he had to say it, but that didn't make it any less difficult to actually go through with it, so he calmed himself in order to appear reasonable and authoritative.

"Sir, I believe that you could've ended this a long time ago." Baileywick stated.

"... Excuse me?" Roland asked, more than a little shocked by such a bold statement coming out of the steward.

"I said, sire, that I believe you could've ended this a long time ago." Baileywick answered. Motioning for the King to hear him out before he could say anything else. "You say you can't be there for your children because there's never any time. Well, with all due respect, sire, I suggest you **make** time for them. First of all, I could easily do your paperwork on top of everything else, sir. And as for-"

"But Baileywick, you-" Roland started, only to be interrupted by Baileywick,

"No buts, my King, this is for you and your childrens' own good." He stated, firmly.

The King thought about it and eventually nodded in agreement. "That still leaves all the events I need to attend to, though." He added, still skeptical.

"Sire, with all due respect, you don't **need** to attend to any of them. You choose to." Baileywick replied. Pointing out the self-imposed nature of the King's problems.

"But I always go above and beyond for my kingdom! That's the way it's always been, that's what makes me the King I am! I care too much about this kingdom to let anything get in the way of my duty to it!" The King shouted at the steward in anger, not realizing what he was saying.

"Perhaps, sire, you should stop caring so much about the kingdom and start caring about your own children!" Baileywick shouted back. Acting uncharacteristically frustrated. He immediately realized what he'd done afterward and promptly apologized.

"Please forgive me, my King. I'll leave you for now..." He said, remorsefully. Before he left, Roland stopped him and said,

"Wait, Baileywick... you're right. I've always been obsessed with being the best king I can be that I hardly ever seem to have time for my kids. Maybe it's time that changed. Maybe it's time I changed... Either way, thank you, Baileywick. I feel much better now." Roland smiled, while putting his hand on Baileywick's shoulder this time.

The castle steward, who was fully expecting to face the King's wrath for his disrespectful behavior, was taken by surprise by his humble response. "... You're welcome, sire." He stammered out, before he left the room.

The King sat down and did some thinking. After a little while, he called Baileywick back in.

"Yes, my King?" Baileywick asked.

"Baileywick, could you get the kids in here?" Roland asked.

"I certainly could. They'll be in your vicinity in just a moment, my King." Baileywick smiled, leaving the room immediately to get them.

With Baileywick out of the room and a little more time to think, Roland began to wonder what he'd do to make it up to them. "Perhaps a new tiara for Amber, maybe a new dress for Sofia, and..." Roland tried thinking of a gift for James, until he realized what he was doing. He was being reprehensibly materialistic. "No, I've gotta do something that involves spending some quality time with them..." Roland said, correcting himself. It took a moment, but he eventually figured out the perfect way to make it up to them.

When Baileywick came back with the children, Sofia was the first to ask what was going on, to which Roland regretfully replied,

"Sofia, Amber, James... I haven't been a very good Father to you."

"What do you mean? I think you've been a great Dad to us!" Sofia cheerfully said, mistaking his admittance for petty self-deprecation.

"No, Sofia, I haven't." Roland said, still having trouble with admitting to his fault, but he knew it had to be done. "I've been blind, selfish, and—worst of all—I haven't given you kids the attention you deserve and **need** in order to grow up and become the princesses—and prince—that this kingdom needs. It's unfair to you, it's unfair to Amber, and it's unfair to James too." Roland explained, "Which is why I'm gonna make it up to all of you today." He announced.

"What are you going to do, Daddy?" Amber asked, excitedly. Half-expecting jewelry.

"We're gonna go to the playground together and have some fun." Roland smiled.

With that, all the kids crowded around the King and hugged him. They had assumed he was gonna give them presents to make up for it like usual, but this was a complete surprise for all of them. They never really got to spend much time with him, so the idea of spending time with him at the playground was new and exciting for each of them.

Queen Miranda apparently overheard, since she walked in and asked what all the hugging was about.

"Ah, Miranda! I've decided to take them all to the playground and play with them!... Is that alright?" The King asked. Hoping he didn't unknowingly ruin any prior plans for the day.

"Of course!... As long as I get to come along." Miranda added, with a wink to her husband. Roland eagerly complied, and they all traveled to the playground on the carriage.

Sofia and James seemed the most excited out of the kids. Amber seemed happy to spend more time with her Father, but she would've preferred something a little less active.

When they got there, there were a few other kids there too. Namely, Prince Zandar. James was apparently thrilled to see him, because the two both shouted each other's names and went for a hug. The King observed that the hug lasted for quite awhile before it ended, but chalked it up to him simply not 'getting' today's youth and how they interacted. "It all comes back to me not paying enough attention, doesn't it..." He lamented.

What definitely took him by surprise was what James asked him afterward.

"Hey, Dad? Could I hangout with Zandar for a little while?" James asked, genuine earnestness in his voice.

"What?" Roland responded, positively exasperated by the question.

"Please, Dad? I promise I'll get back with you and the others as soon as we're done..."

His initial thoughts were "Of course not!" since the whole reason they were there was so that he could make up for not being there for them, but then he did some more thinking and thought "I'm making this about me." He then answered James,

"Go on ahead, James. But I'm holding you to that promise, understand?"

"Alright! Thanks, Dad!" James said, hugging him before heading off with Zandar.

"And try not to get into any trouble!" Miranda added to Roland's previous statement.

"I won't!" James said, already far away from them. It was hard to let him go like that, but the King knew it was the right thing to do. When that was over, they caught up with Sofia and Amber, one of which was playing on the swing.

"Dad! Push me!" Sofia exclaimed. Excited to see how much more fun it'd be with her Dad.

Admittedly, Roland wasn't used to the attention, but happily obeyed Sofia's 'command'.

"Amber! Are you gonna join in?" Roland asked, wondering why Amber wasn't already on the swings with Sofia.

"No thanks, Daddy. I'll just watch." Amber replied.

"Okay then. Have fun..." Roland said, disappointedly.

Amber saw his disappointed look and immediately said "I changed my mind, Daddy! Push me next!"

The King, surprised by Amber's change of heart, happily complied.

Now everyone was joining in on the fun. Miranda was pushing Sofia, and Roland was pushing Amber, who—despite herself—was having a wonderful time as well. "Still," The King thought, "we're missing James. Where is he..." He wondered. Eventually, the sun began to go down and it was about time to leave. James was still nowhere to be seen.

"Rollie? Do you know where James is?" Miranda asked.

"I don't know... You get the kids back in the carriage, I'll go ahead and looked for him." Roland replied. Trying his best to look strong when, in-reality, he was scared. Someone may have taken him, he may have gotten lost, he may have...

"No, can't dwell on that right now." He thought. "Right now, I need to focus on finding him."

He started calling out his name softly, slowly building up in volume until he was finally yelling his name, He must've looked everywhere, he thought. After what seemed like hours, James responded from far away,

"I'll be there in a minute, Dad!" James yelled. That wasn't quite what Roland wanted to hear, but it was good enough. He headed toward where he thought he heard his voice coming from and finally spotted James and Zandar off the corner of his right eye. They were walking back together, and... they appeared to be holding hands.

* * *

**Author's Note:** Okay, I hope I'm not stepping on anyone's toes with this one. I love all of the characters in Sofia the First, including King Roland, so don't think I'm doing this because I hate the guy, because I really do like the character!... Though, that might just be because he's voiced by **THE GREAT TRAVIS WILLINGHAM!** XD

But yeah. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! :D Make sure not to hold back on any constructive criticism you may have for me, I need it!


	2. Lamentations Part 2

They got into another long hug. The first time it happened, it could've been excused as them acting like close friends should, but this time—on top of them holding hands—looked too close to be mistaken for anything else. Something was going on, and Roland was oblivious to its existence up until now, and that wasn't even getting into how long it could've been going on without his knowing. Regardless, he was **way** out of the loop with James, and they needed to talk about it.

"Goodbye, James! See you again some other time!" Zandar cheerfully said. Waving goodbye, even though they were still relatively close to each other.

"You too, Zandar! I'll miss you!" James replied. Waving back.

With that, James started to race back to his father, a look of fear building up in his eyes as he began to wonder how he was to be punished for being so late. When he finally got to him, he apologized profusely.

"I'm so sorry, Dad! I just lost track of time and-"

"Never mind that. It's time to go back to the carriage and head home."

"Okay..." James replied. Not doubting for a moment that he was in deep trouble.

As they walked, there was a certain tension surrounding them. Fear and regret was felt by both Roland **and** James. Roland, because he still wasn't quite sure what to do with the information he now had. James, because he was sure he was going to get a terrible scolding when they got back home. Despite their similar feelings, not a word was spoken between them during that walk. That long, dreadful walk. It was almost as if time itself had stopped while they were walking and would only resume when one of them spoke to the other. A prospect that seemed less likely with each passing step.

Eventually, they did make it back to the carriage. Almost as soon as they did, Miranda noticed them and yelled,

"James, where were you! You had me so worried!"

"Sorry, Mom..." James said, remorsefully.

"He lost track of time. I'll have a talk with him later, when we get back home." Roland said, authoritatively.

James looked back at his Father and thought that he was in bigger trouble than he thought, previously.

It was a long ride home for everyone in the carriage.

James was still dreading what he thought would be a terrible punishment. In truth: King Roland never gave James—or anyone else for that matter—any reason to fear him, it was actually James' own guilt that made him think he was going to receive some sort of horrible punishment for being so late and not spending time with his father and the rest of the family.

This was gonna be a big day. He was gonna play with his Dad and the whole family was gonna have fun just like they used to, and he ruined it, he thought. He wished he could go back and do something differently, he wished he could've come back sooner, he wished he didn't spend so much time with Zandar...

… But he just couldn't help it! There was just something about spending time with Zandar made him feel like never before! Unfortunately, he was still very young and had only realized these feelings weeks ago, so he couldn't articulate why he felt all these things when he was around him. He just knew that he liked him.

Meanwhile, Sofia was just wondering what was happening. She felt the tension surrounding the carriage (as did everyone else) and she knew James had been late, but that was about it. She didn't know if it would be appropriate to ask, so she kept quiet. She inconspicuously checked her amulet to see if it was gonna do something. It was normal, so she went back to worrying. Not sure what else to do.

Amber was just sad. She'd known James the longest and best out of everyone in the carriage (with the possible exception of their own father) and she honestly couldn't remember another time he looked this guilty. It was frustrating, to say the least. Seeing him like this. He was always so cheerful and fun-loving that, for awhile, she had a hard time believing he could ever be sad... well, that he couldn't be this sad.

Miranda tried her hardest to decipher what her Husband's unsure expression meant. She wasn't used to seeing him like this, nor was she used to seeing her stepchild, James, this sad. Roland had said that James was late, but she couldn't help but feel that there was more to it than that. Something Roland wasn't telling her about...

Roland continued to beat himself up over his negligence. It wasn't necessarily about seeing his son and another boy interacting like that, but just seeing them together like that without knowing why just perfectly encapsulated what he thought was his personal failure as a parent. They were hugging, holding hands, and he had no idea it was happening until today. "What else do I not know?" He wondered, but he knew he couldn't allow himself to dwell too much on what _could_ be. It distracted him from what **was.** And if there was one thing he had to do, he needed to focus on what **was** to figure out how he could deal with it.

They all stayed silent the whole time. Nobody asked. Nobody said anything.

When they finally got back home, Roland said,

"Amber, Sofia, you two get ready for bed."

"Yes, Dad." They said in unison. They had a vague idea of what he was doing, singling them out, so they complied. Sofia put her hand on James' shoulder in an attempt to comfort him before she left to get ready. Miranda looked back at the two before she left, worried for both of them.

"As for you, James... meet me in your room." Roland asked, trying his best to look strong in front of his son after all that had happened.

"Yes, Dad." James replied, almost in tears.

Upon noticing this, the King immediately stopped trying to look strong and asked, "James, what's wrong? Why are you crying?"

"I'm sorry I didn't get to play with you today..." James muttered in between sniffles.

"What? Oh, James, that's not what this is about." Roland said, trying his best to comfort James while putting his hand on his shoulder.

"It isn't?" James asked, his mood lifted by his Father's comforting.

"No... I'd never get angry at you over something as small as that..."

"But this was gonna be the first time since my **real** Mom-" James started, but stopped as soon as the words "my real Mom" escaped his lips.

The King's eyes widened when he heard what his son had said. He turned his back to James so he wouldn't have to see his Father... _weaken._

When he had finally gotten a hold of himself, he asked,

"... Has it really been that long?"

James gulped and said, "... Yes."

He turned around and gave his son a long hug. Repeating to him over and over again, "It's okay, James. It's okay. Everything's gonna be alright." The King wasn't exactly expecting this, but it happened nonetheless. Like all of the repressed pain that had built up over the years was finally released in one moment. The hug managed to last for quite awhile, but it did eventually end, and the King did have to get to what he was trying to say earlier, before James mentioned... her.

"... Anyway, what I was about to say earlier was that I wanted to talk to you about something else." Roland said, while wiping the tears off James' cheeks.

"Really? What is it?" James asked, his curiosity piqued.

"We'll get to that when we're inside..." The King said, but, after seeing the disappointed look on his face, he added, "... We can't have the Prince catch a cold from staying outside at night for too long!" That seemed to cheer him up, but the actual reason for it was that he didn't want anyone to overhear their conversation. Afraid of how some of his subjects would feel about their Prince—who could be their future King—being this close to another male.

James was still pretty disappointed that he had to wait, but, knowing that there was a reason behind it, he could live with it. When they did get inside, James eagerly asked,

"So what is it, Dad?"

"Okay. What I-" Roland started, until he noticed the room they were in was very populated. "... I think we should wait until we get to your room."

"What? Why?" James asked. Confused about his father changing his mind, all of a sudden.

"... Just trust me on this." Roland assured him.

"Okay..." James replied.

As they made their way to James' room, they bumped into Baileywick, who said,

"Ah, my King, I didn't know you had returned! How did the visit to the playground go?"

Both James and Roland looked at each other and gave no response. Baileywick guessed that it didn't go as well as Roland had hoped it would, and didn't pry afterward. Before he left, though, Roland asked him,

"Baileywick, James and I are going to have a private conversation. Could you make sure we aren't interrupted or heard?"

"Yes, my King. You will not be interrupted." Baileywick promised. Not stopping to ask why they were gonna have a private conversation, or why what they were gonna talk about was so important that they couldn't be allowed to be interrupted or heard by anyone. He knew Roland always wanted the best for everyone, so he trusted that it was necessary and that it wasn't anything to worry about... at least, he hoped it wasn't.

They made it to the door and Roland opened it for James to go in first. Before joining him, he motioned for Baileywick to come closer so he could hear him,

"Are you sure nobody will hear?" He whispered.

"Yes. You can trust me, sire." Baileywick assured the King.

"Yes, I know I can, but... Look, this is really important. If any of the things we talk about in here get out, James could get hurt, and I don't want that happening. Understood?" Roland asked, with a genuinely worried look on his face.

"Yes, sire. You have my word, no one will hear." Baileywick answered, not a hint of hesitation in his voice.

"Okay... Thanks, Baileywick." Roland smiled, before leaving him.

When he entered the room, Roland closed the door behind him and said,

"Okay... This has to do with... um... earlier, before we left." Roland started, still a little inexperienced with having this sort of talk. "I was looking for you, until... um... I saw you and Zandar. You were holding hands." Roland finished.

"And?" James asked, innocently.

It took a minute for Roland to answer him, since he had to be sure to word everything correctly, or else he might get the wrong idea.

"I'm not saying there's anything wrong with that, it's just that... friends don't usually do that... and I don't think I've ever seen you hold hands with anyone else... at least, not like you did with Zandar. Is there a reason for that?" Roland asked.

"Well... I dunno. I just like him. Just like how you like Mom, right?" James asked, trying to find the right words to describe how he likes his friend. Also making sure that his Father knew he was referring to his current mother.

"Oh!" Roland reacted. This was pretty much all the confirmation he needed to hear to know what James and Zandar had. "... So it's really like that?" He asked, despite already knowing the answer.

"I guess." James shrugged. Oblivious to how serious the subject was, and what would happen if that information was released to the public.

"... I see." Roland said grimly. Realizing what he had to do.

"... Is that bad?" James asked, worried that he had somehow done something wrong by liking Zandar in that way.

Roland took a deep breath, knowing that he had to make a choice. Would he tell him what he** wanted** to tell him, and risk him getting shunned by the kingdom for who he is? Or would he tell him what he was **supposed** to tell him, and force him to reject his feelings and possibly develop emotional scars over it? Eventually, he decided he wouldn't be dishonest with his son and told him what he truly believed,

"... No, son. No. There's nothing wrong with that all. You're fine. No matter what anyone else tells you—and believe me, people **will** tell you otherwise-—you're fine. You _are_ different, that much is certain, but that's perfectly fine. And no matter what happens, I'll accept you for who you are. I promise you, you won't have to worry about me not accepting you. If anyone gives you trouble over this, you can come to me and I'll settle it. Okay?"

"Okay, Dad. Thanks." James smiled. Still incapable of comprehending how much this would change things, and how much his Father was sacrificing for him by doing this.

"You're welcome, James." Roland replied. "... Just don't let anyone else know, alright? Some people might not take it as well as I have, and I don't want you going through any of that." He added.

"Alright, I won't." James answered.

"Now go get ready for bed, it's already late as it is." The King ordered, ruffling his son's hair while he was at it.

"Okay!" James replied. Running off to get himself ready for bed.

Roland smiled as he watched his son running off, perfectly care-free. When he left his field of vision, the King wiped the sweat off his forehead. "That was harder than I thought it would be..." He thought to himself.

* * *

**Author's Notes: **Now, before I begin...

OW, OW, OW, OW, OW, OW, OW, OW, OW, AND OW!... *takes deep breath* Okay. I don't know how all of that stuff about James' real Mom came out, but it did and I'm so sorry.

… Anyway, Chapter 2 is done! :D Apologies to anyone looking forward to updates for this story, because this is the last chapter for awhile. Chapter 3 will come eventually, I assure you, but for right now it's been put on hold. I'll give you all a hint on what's to come, though: We've only just finished the Lamentations. Next time, we'll start seeing the Trials and Tribulations...

One of the reviews I read asked if James and Zandar were a little young to be together. Well, the way I'm writing it: They're a little too young to fully understand what they're feeling for each other, or what relationships are. It may just be puppy love, for all we know of it. With this story, I'm not all that concerned about whether or not it'll evolve into real, lasting, meaningful love. I may explore the relationship (and maybe even age them up a bit ;D) in future Fics, but it's not the focus for this story. That could change in future chapters, but, for right now, it's not the main focus and I'm not planning anything for it. Sorry if I'm disappointing anyone with that! D:

Lastly, thanks for all the positive feedback! :D I appreciate each review, each favorite, and each follow!


	3. Trials Part 1

"I'm worrying over nothing!" Miranda told her reflection in the mirror. Heavy bags intruding on her otherwise beautiful face, due to her lack of sleep. It had been weeks since Rollie brought James back from wherever he was when he was late at the playground, and she was still wondering what on Earth could've made the situation so tense.

Perhaps she _was_ worrying over nothing. She couldn't help it, though. She was a Mother, and it was only natural for her to worry about her family. There _was, _admittedly, a point where it got excessive, and she always tried to make sure she avoided reaching that point. All she really wanted was to be the best Mother she could be, and she liked to think she was at times, but she'd begun to doubt her abilities as a Mother since the King brought James back to the carriage. There was an uncomfortable tension surrounding them at the time, she could feel it, but all her Rollie said was that "he was late." Like there was something James did that her Rollie didn't want her to know about.

"I am his **Mother! **I have a right to know what's going on!" She thought to herself... okay, technically she was his **Step**mother, but she never felt like that deterred her from loving him with as much care and affection as a biological Mother would. Regardless, she had a right to know what was going on, and she was **going** to know. Whether the King wanted her to or not.

Suddenly, she was taken out of her thoughts and back to the real world, where someone was knocking on her door.

"Mom?" Sofia called, as she repeatedly knocked on the closed door to the King & Queen's room.

"Come in, Sofia." Miranda said.

The little princess opened the door and proceeded to walk in. "So," Miranda started, "what is it?"

"Oh, I was just wondering if... y'know, Ruby & Jade could come over so Amber and I could have a tea party with them?" Sofia timidly asked. Afraid she wouldn't get the answer she wanted.

"Of course they can, Sofia." Miranda answered.

"Yay! Thanks, Mom!" Sofia exclaimed, hugging her Mother gratefully.

"You're welcome." Miranda smiled.

She felt like she didn't have to worry about Sofia. It seemed that she'd raised her very well for the most part, and Sofia **never** kept secrets from her... well, more or less. Even so, she felt like Sofia was doing alright for herself. She was kind, thoughtful, cheery, and had all the love in the world for those close to her.

As Sofia left, the Queen happened to overhear her bumping into someone on her way out.

"Hi, Dad!" Sofia greeted.

"Hello, Sofia. Where are you headed off to?" The King questioned.

"To the village to pickup Ruby & Jade." Sofia replied.

"Really? What's the occasion?" Roland asked.

"Amber and I thought it'd be fun if we all had a tea party here." Sofia explained.

"Interesting. You just got back from asking permission from your Mother, right?" The King asked, making sure his daughter wasn't going without her Mother's knowing.

"Of course!" Sofia cheerily replied.

"Great. Have fun, Sofia. I'll go ahead and ask Baileywick to set a table for the four of you before James and I leave." Roland stated.

"Thanks, Dad!" Sofia said, in appreciation of her Dad's thoughtfulness.

After his stepdaughter had left, Roland entered his room. A little too preoccupied with looking for some more casual-looking clothes to notice his wife and say hello to her. His wife noticed _him, _however, and deduced that he was going somewhere—based on the fact that he was looking for clothes to wear—and decided she'd ask him about it.

"Where are _you_ headed off to?" Miranda inquired. Putting a special emphasis on the word 'you,' as if she was calling back to when he asked Sofia where she was heading off to.

"Who, me?" Roland jokingly guessed, "Well, I'm getting ready to go to the playground with James." He answered.

"Is that right? What are you doing that for?" Miranda asked.

"Oh, well, it's to make up for last time... you know, when-" Roland started. He and James were both over what happened that fateful day, but he realized that it could still be a sore spot for anyone not in the know.

"I know, I know..." Miranda interrupted. Her interrupting him was meant to serve as a way to avoid her reliving what had happened, but she was too late. She remembered how James left with Zandar and only came back when Roland went looking for him, she remembered how tense the ride back home was, and she remembered him saying "he was late." She then began to have an inner-debate with herself on whether or not she should ask what was really going on.

Noticing this, Roland grew concerned and asked, "... Are you okay, Miranda?"

"What?" Miranda reacted. Once again brought back to the real world.

"I asked if you were okay. You don't look well, you know." Roland pointed out.

"I'm well aware of that, **dear.**" Miranda replied while looking at her comparatively less pleasant reflection in the mirror. Irritation in her voice. When she looked back to see Roland's hurt facial expression, she sighed and apologized,

"I'm sorry, Rollie... I've just been very stressed as of late..."

"Why's that?" Roland inquired.

"Well..." Miranda started. She was taking her time, "and rightfully so." She thought. She didn't want her Rollie to worry over nothing, so she had to make sure to word everything so he wouldn't get any wrong ideas on what was going on.

"Is there something you want to tell me?" The King questioned. Apparently, her silence on its own had given him the impression that something was eating away at her... which was exactly right. She was losing sleep, she was getting paranoid, all because of something he'd said.

But now he was giving her the perfect chance to confront him about it. Not wanting to waste the opportunity, Miranda asked,

"Could I ask you a serious question?"

"Of course, Miranda. What is it?" Roland thoughtfully replied.

"First, promise me that you'll tell me the truth." Miranda requested.

Roland was momentarily taken aback by the request, saying, "Why? Do you think I would lie to you?"

"That's... kind of the point." Miranda admitted. Seeing his puzzled facial expression, she explained, "Please, Rollie. Promise for me."

The King did have to think about it, but he eventually conceded, sighed, and promised, "You have my word, I will not lie to you."

"Okay..." Miranda started, pausing to take a deep breath, "... I've been wondering for the past few weeks... when you two came back—when we were leaving the playground—there seemed to be something going on."

"... Well, of course there was. James was very late, if you recall." Roland said.

"No, there was more to it than that. I could tell. James looked sadder than I've ever seen him before or since, and you... you looked **very** conflicted. I know James was late—**very** late, in fact—but that looked like way more than just him being late. At the very least, not on your end." Miranda stated.

Roland was genuinely surprised by her perceptiveness. He, admittedly, had tried to make it look like nothing more than James being late, but that had evidently failed miserably. That, or she was just that good at being able to tell if something was bothering him. Either way, he needed to figure out a way out of the predicament he was currently knee-deep in.

"Rollie, you can tell me what's happening." Miranda said, in an attempt to comfort her clearly distressed husband. After a long period of silence, though, Miranda asked, "_... Can't you?_"

He remained silent. Miranda sighed, and began to leave the room, only stopping when Roland said,

"... Miranda, wait."

"Rollie, if it's not the truth, I don't want to hear it." She reminded him.

"Okay then, I'll tell you the truth..." Roland stated. Pausing to take a deep breath.

He was being given a choice again. Would he tell her the truth, risk James' well-being, and allow the possibility of someone outside of the castle finding out to become even bigger? Or would he lie to his own wife, and risk making things even worse if and when she _did_ eventually find out?

"... The truth is... it was really just because James was late." The King explained.

"And that's really the truth?" Miranda asked.

"Miranda, I promise you: Nothing is happening." Roland assured her.

"... Okay then. I don't think this gonna help my paranoia that much, but I at least have your word for it now. Thank you, Rollie." She said, thanking him for what she assumed was him being honest.

"You're welcome, Miranda." The King replied.

With all that was said, it was easy to forget why King Roland had entered the room in the first place... as long as you hadn't been kept waiting for ten minutes. From the castle gates, James could be heard calling, "Dad? Are you coming?"

"Yes, James, I'm on my way!" Roland replied hastily. Hurrying so that his son wouldn't have to wait any longer than he already had. He gave Miranda an amorous hug and went on his way.

Miranda sighed as she looked back at the mirror and returned to her thoughts.

"Would he lie to me?" She asked herself.

* * *

Sofia was no less than grateful for her Mother's permission to do this. It wasn't necessarily that she hadn't seen Ruby & Jade in awhile, she saw them quite often, in actuality. Rather, the reason she was so excited was because they were gonna be able to visit the castle again, which was a rarity... That, and every time she did get to see them it was a special time, she thought.

When she'd arrived at the village, she hurried to them, calling their names as she ran.

"Sofia?" They both said, as they heard their friend's calls.

"There you are!" Sofia exclaimed happily. They all got into a big hug and told each other how much they missed seeing each other.

It was true, Sofia & her Mother moving into the castle and away from the village—while, on its own, it was a blessing—it posed a major threat to the strength of her friendship with Ruby & Jade. Nevertheless, Sofia managed to keep it going strong, and they were all still very good friends.

"So, what do you wanna do?" Jade questioned.

"That's why I came here! I was thinking we could have a tea party!" Sofia excitedly announced.

"That sounds awesome! Where are we having it?" Ruby asked.

"The castle." Sofia coolly answered. Ruby & Jade were ecstatic. "What are we waiting for? Let's go!" Sofia exclaimed.

They immediately ran towards the carriage and got their seats as quickly as they could.

"Is Amber coming too?" Jade asked.

"Of course she is!" Sofia replied.

"Great!" Ruby & Jade exclaimed, in unison.

As they grew closer to reaching their destination, Ruby & Jade seemed to be tensing up. As if they were holding something back. Noticing this, Sofia asked,

"Ruby? Jade? Is everything alright?"

When they heard this, they began to debate amongst themselves.

"Do you tell her?" Ruby whispered.

"I guess..." Jade replied. She then looked back at her friend, who was wearing the most worried look on her face Jade had seen that day.

"Is something going on?" Sofia asked.

Jade took a deep breath and finally asked, "... We were wondering if you had heard what they've been saying about your step-brother."

"... What are they saying?" Sofia asked, concernedly.

"They're saying-wait, come closer." Jade whispered. She wasn't too sure about the whole thing, but, nevertheless, Sofia hesitantly complied and leaned her ear in close to hear her friend's whispers.

When she was close enough, Jade whispered, "They're saying he and Zandar really like each other."

"What? But Zandar's a boy!" Sofia reacted, still making sure to whisper.

Ruby & Jade nodded.

"... Boys can do that?" Sofia asked.

"I know!" Ruby exclaimed. Promptly getting shushed by the others. "Sorry!" Ruby quietly said.

"... I _guess_ they can. I've never seen it happen anywhere else... not that I've ever been anywhere else..." Jade lamented.

"Yeah, well, you're not gonna see _me_ complaining about this!" Ruby giggled. Quickly provoking giggles from the other two girls.

* * *

Both James & Roland were at the playground, but Roland was also in his mind, using the time to think. He was definitely enjoying the time he was spending with James, but he desperately needed time to think and now was as good a time as any, he thought. "Why did I lie to her?" He asked himself.

"To protect James!" Roland answered.

"From what?" The King countered.

"From... well... from her." Roland almost ashamedly admitted to himself.

"How do you know there's any need for protecting him from her? When has she given you any reason to believe she'd ever hurt him?" The King asked.

Roland would've continued this dialogue with himself, but he was taken out of his thoughts by his son, calling, "... Dad?"

"Huh? What?" The King reacted. Once he'd collected himself, he asked, "What is it, James?"

"You stopped pushing." James explained. It was true. In the heat of his debate with himself, he'd forgotten to push James on the swing.

"... Sorry." The King apologized.

"Is there anything wrong?" James asked.

"... No, I just lost my concentration. Let's start again." He said, in an attempt to lighten the mood of his concerned son.

"Okay!" James giddily replied.

* * *

When they finally got to the castle, they were greeted with a hug by Princess Amber.

"It's so good to see you two!" Amber exclaimed. While Sofia didn't necessarily see them very often, Amber barely ever got to see them, so it was especially nice to see them again for her.

When they entered the castle, they were immediately escorted to their table by the castle steward. Once they got started, Ruby & Jade started looking at Sofia, silently indicating as best as they could that they both thought she should be the one to tell Amber about James & Zandar. Sofia reacted with disbelief, pointing at herself, as if she was seeking confirmation of their decision.

They both nodded. Sofia sighed, and said, "... So... Amber?"

"Yes, Sofia?" Amber asked.

"Well, um..." Sofia timidly began, trying her hardest to keep calm so her stepsister wouldn't worry. It didn't necessarily work, since Amber immediately noticed Sofia's distressed look.

"Sofia? Is everything alright?" Amber asked, concernedly.

"Yes!... well, _kinda no..._" Sofia admitted.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Amber questioned. Getting more and more anxious to find out what was going on with her sister.

"Um... could you promise me you won't freak out if I tell you?" Sofia cautiously asked.

"Why? What's going on?" Amber asked.

"I'll tell you after you promise... please?" Sofia supplicated.

Amber sighed and promised, "Very well. I promise I won't freak out. Now, what's the problem?"

"Well, um... Have you heard what they're saying about James?" Sofia inquired.

"No. I had no idea they were even saying things about James. What's it all about?" Amber asked.

"Well... y'know how boys and girls can like each other a lot...?" Sofia started.

"A girlfriend? James?!" Amber gasped in disbelief, before erupting into a laugh as loud and uncontrolled as a Princess like her could possibly let out. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry... does laughing count in freaking out?" She asked.

"I don't know... and, um... well, it's not a girlfriend ..." Sofia started, causing Amber to stop laughing.

"... But... James is a boy." Amber stated.

Sofia nodded.

"Oh... Well, who is it then?" Amber asked, trying her best to stay calm so she could keep her promise.

"Zandar." Sofia said.

"Hmm... well that at least makes some sense, they do spend a lot of time together..." Amber thought to herself aloud.

"... So what now?" Sofia asked.

"Go back to our tea party?" Jade rather carelessly suggested.

"But what about Mom? What if she doesn't know?" Sofia asked.

"Then you can tell her afterward, Sofia. It's not like it's a big deal or anything..." Ruby shrugged.

"I can't say I disagree with her, Sofia." Amber stated.

"... Okay... I guess you guys are right." Sofia smiled. Happy to be reassured by her friends that nothing was wrong.

* * *

He and James had moved on to playing good 'ole Tag. _. _He tried to convince his son against it, afraid that it'd be unfair since he would naturally be faster than the young prince due to his longer legs, but his son had apparently inherited his persuasiveness, since he ended up convinced to do it anyway. He'd evidently underestimated his son's agility and stamina, since he was practically running circles around the King. It was a pleasant surprise, to see that his son was more athletic than himself—that, or he'd forgotten how fast he was at James' age—was reassuring, since he'd later have to take over for the Kingdom. "Maybe he'll be better at the picnic games than I was..." The King chuckled to himself.

After awhile, the King grew tired and asked for a break. James complied and gave him one. As King Roland was relaxing, he suddenly got to thinking about what would happen if and when someone else knew. It was a scary thought, admittedly. Same-sex relationships had been forbidden for generations, and for him to allow it after all these years would undoubtedly cause a major backlash against him and everyone associated with him. Not the least of which being James.

But what _about_ James? What about people like him who've been forced to live in fear for all those generations? Should he just keep it a secret and not make a stand for a group of people who'd desperately needed someone to for years? As a King ruled by his morals, he knew what the right decision was. But, if things went sour, James needed to be warned.

"James?" The King called.

"Yeah, Dad?"

"Could we have another talk?"

"... Yeah. Should we find a room?"

"No, I'm sure nobody else is out here with us..." Roland stated, almost immediately knowing that he'd regret saying it the moment the words left his mouth. Despite that, he didn't care. Right now, he needed to focus on James.

"Okay." James replied.

"So... do you remember when I said there would be people who wouldn't accept you?" The King asked.

"Yeah?" James answered.

"Well... I bring this up because I plan on telling your Mother about you and Zandar. Is that alright with you?" Roland asked.

"Yeah." James answered again.

"I'm glad... another reason I brought it up was because there could be members of our own family that won't understand. Members like your Mother, your Aunt, or your sisters." Roland stated.

After he'd heard this, James got worried and asked, "You mean... they won't love me anymore?"

"No, that's... James, they'll always love you no matter what. It's just that... they may not fully understand—or want to, for that matter—why you like Zandar." Roland explained.

"Why wouldn't they?" James asked.

"... Well, James, loving someone of the same gender has been considered taboo in this Kingdom for generations." The King stated.

"What's a taboo?" James asked.

"It's... um... well, what it means is that something—in this case: Loving someone of the same gender—isn't allowed." The King explained.

"Oh..." The Prince reacted. "Why isn't it allowed?" He asked.

"Well, James, there are many reasons why it isn't allowed or, rather, why it's wrong. I myself grew up hearing a lot of them, so I can tell you that, what it all boils down to, is this: It's different." Roland explained.

"... Is that all?" James reacted.

"Unfortunately, yes." Roland replied.

"But that doesn't make any sense..." James said.

"Well, when I say it like that, it doesn't. They've come up with several different ways of arguing against it, some of them sounding pretty convincing, but what they're ultimately saying never changes. I could go over them if you want-" Roland began, until he was cut off by his son.

"No thanks, Dad." James replied.

"Okay then..." The King said.

"... They sound dumb." The Prince grumbled.

"Who?" Roland inquired.

"The people who don't allow people to love someone just because of their gender." James replied.

When he heard this, the King hung his head low, sighed, and stated,

"... I wish it was that simple."

"What do you mean?" James asked.

"Well... It's true that you'll meet a lot of dumb people who think it's wrong," Roland started, "but you'll also meet a lot of smart people who think it's wrong as well." The King tried to explain. When he noticed James' confused expression, he said, "Look, I know it doesn't make much sense, but that's just the way it is for some people."

"... I wish it wasn't like that." James said.

"Me too, James. Me too..." Roland replied.

After a long, silent period of time, James asked,

"... Hey, Dad?"

"Yes, James?" The King replied.

"Can we play tag one more time before we go?" The Prince inquired.

"Hmm..." Roland muttered, looking at the sunset skies. "I don't know about that, James... It's getting pretty late-" Roland started, until he noticed James crushed look. "... On second thought, I'm sure we could fit one more game in." Roland replied.

"Yay! Thanks, Dad!" James exclaimed, before tagging his father. "You're it!" He giggled.

"Aw, come on!" Roland jokingly yelled, as they resumed playing tag.

* * *

Sofia and the others had finished having their tea party and were just saying their goodbyes.

"Goodbye, Ruby! Goodbye, Jade!" Sofia exclaimed.

"Goodbye, you two!" Ruby & Jade replied.

After they left, Sofia and Amber proceeded to continue their conversation from earlier.

"So, do we tell Mom first?" Sofia wondered.

"I believe that's all we _can_ do, for right now. Our Father is at the playground with James." Amber explained.

"... Do you think _he _knows?" Sofia asked.

"That's... actually very possible." Amber realized.

"Really?" Sofia reacted.

"Think about it: Dad was fine until he got back from looking for James. Maybe he saw James and Zandar together." Amber stated.

"That would explain a lot." Sofia thought aloud.

"So... I suppose that leaves us with Mother." Amber said.

"Are you sure I should be the one to tell her?" Sofia asked.

"Well, I don't see why not. Are you asking because you don't want to?"

"I guess not... Okay, I'll tell her." Sofia smiled.

* * *

After Miranda finally convinced herself that there was nothing to worry about, she decided she'd take a nap. It was hard, trying to sleep while suspecting that something was going on, and that your husband didn't want you to know it. Unfortunately, Miranda got to relearn that, every night. For weeks. Now, with her peace of mind regained, she decided to make use of it and finally get a good night's rest.

That is, she would've, if not for Sofia knocking on the door and subsequently waking her up.

"Mom?" Sofia asked, while knocking.

"You can stop knocking, Sofia, I'm coming." Miranda groggily said, rubbing the sleep off her eyes.

When she opened the door, she asked, "So, Sofia, what do you want?"

"Well, um... I came to ask if you've heard about what they're saying about James and Zandar." Sofia stated.

Right then, Miranda's eyes shot open. Memories sprang up of James and Zandar leaving together to play together, of when James came back and both he and her husband looked tense, of when her husband told her nothing was happening. Questions began to swirl around her head, **demanding** to know what they were saying. She managed to stammer out,

"S-Saying? About J-James and Zandar? No, what are they saying?"

"Um... They're saying they like each other." Sofia timidly replied. Much of her confidence now dissipated by her Mother's sudden change in tone, leading her to believe that something was wrong.

"... That's it?" Miranda inquired. More than a little baffled by how dull the whole matter appeared to be. "I could've told you that. Zandar and James have been friends for years, of course they'd like each other."

"I'm sorry, what I meant was: They're saying they really, really like each other" Sofia said.

"... I still don't understand-" Miranda started, before the truth dawned on her. Suddenly, her eyes were filled with a look of fear and denial, as she repeatedly murmured, "No..."

Noticing the grievous look on her Mother's face, Sofia became concerned and asked, "Is everything alright, Mom?"

"... I need some time alone, Sofia. W-Would you mind closing the door on your way out?" Miranda asked.

"... No, I don't..." Sofia answered, as she sorrowfully left the room. Saddened that what she said had made her Mother unhappy.

When the innocent little princess had left, Miranda wept bitterly. Wondering how she could ever have let all this happen.

* * *

**Author's Notes: **Woo! Chapter 3 is done! :D

Now, before anyone starts: No, you can never be too young to enjoy slash. If you'd like further explanation, please PM me. I'd be happy to explain it to you. :) In fact, I'd like for that guest I mentioned in the last Author's Notes to—if it's not too much trouble—make an account so I could talk to him more extensively, rather than just have a back-and-forth between the Author's Notes and his reviews like we've been having. Please and thank you, "Guest!" XD

Anyway, sorry this took so long, guys! D: The reason it took so long was that... well, 1) I was lazy, 2) I had to rewrite and scrap a lot of ideas, and 3) the artist for the brand new cover art needed time to finish the cover art. For what it's worth, I think it was worth the wait. ;)

By the way, the artist's "name" is Master DuWaul, he's a good friend of mine that is a great artist. I finally convinced him to make a deviantART account to showcase his fantastic art! It's a little empty right now, but it'll grow as time goes on. I highly suggest you guys check out his gallery! :D (And sorry, he doesn't take requests.)

Lastly, since I don't want this to go on forever, thank you to everyone for all the feedback. Every review inspires me to work harder than I did before, so thanks for that. :)


	4. Trials Part 2

They'd spent a few more hours on playing that last game of tag than Roland had previously thought they would, but it was worth it in Roland's book. He hadn't spent enough time with James for so long, so, as far as he was concerned, it was long overdue anyway. Still, he needed to tell his wife the truth. "Before she finds out on her own..." Roland thought, remembering how earlier he'd foolishly decided it was safe enough to talk about it with James while out in the open. He was ignorant of how a rumor had already started spreading about it, but it was only between the younger subjects of Enchancia, so it didn't quite matter as much as he would've feared, had he known.

It was then that Roland noticed it had gotten very late. Taking that—along with everything else—into consideration, he decided they needed to leave for the castle right then and there. After he'd decided this, he went to James and told him,

"James, it's time to leave."

"Aww, already?" James asked.

"Already!?" The King playfully reacted in bewilderment, "It's nighttime!"

James looked up in the sky to confirm what his father had said, then he admitted, "Well... it _felt_ too soon."

Roland chuckled at this and said, "Come on, let's get going."

"Okay..." James sullenly replied.

When they got back to the carriage, Roland ordered the coachman, "Take us back to the castle, please. And hurry, too."

"As you wish, my King." The Coachman replied.

While they were waiting to arrive at the castle, Roland couldn't help but notice the lack of tension. True, they'd taken the carriage earlier to visit the playground, but he only noticed it now. Perhaps it was because the last time he felt tension was when they were leaving the playground that one fateful night. Regardless, this time around was much more preferable to that last experience, he thought.

Remembering how James was feeling, during their last trip back to the castle, the King took a moment to look back at his son. He was initially disappointed that they had to leave, but his mood had evidently lightened up since. "Good." Roland thought to himself. His son had gone through a lot over the past few weeks, so he deserved this time to relax.

When they had arrived back at the castle, Roland turned to James and said,

"I'm going to tell your Mother now."

"What if she doesn't understand and gets mad at me?" James worried.

"James, of all people, I'm probably going to be the one she gets mad at." Roland explained, "... Not without good reason, either." He added, to be completely honest with himself.

"What do you mean?" James inquired.

"Well..." Roland started, a tone of regret in his voice, "... I messed up."

"Wait, so it's _not_ okay for me to like Zandar?" James asked.

"No, no, James... it's fine." Roland corrected his son, "The problem is that I lied to your Mother about it."

"What did you say?" James questioned.

"Well... it's not so much that I said anything, I just promised her that nothing was going on with you." The King explained.

"But isn't that _sort of_ true?" James asked.

"James..." Roland said, disappointed. He hoped James would never resort to asking such a question, but he could only blame himself for not teaching him that it was wrong. Now was better than never, he thought, as he explained to James, "James, it was a lie. I could say it wasn't, but that would be a lie too, and I think there have been enough lies for today."

"Okay..." James frowned. Shamed by his father.

"... Oh, I'm sorry, James. This is all my fault, I should've told her the truth in the first place..." Roland apologized, "I'm gonna go tell your Mom the truth now. You go ahead and wait in your room, I'll tell you how it went when I'm done. Is that okay?" Roland asked.

"... Yeah." James smiled.

"Good. Run along, then." Roland smiled. Ruffling his son's hair before he ran off.

Before he left, James happened to bump into Sofia. Without noticing the hurt expression on her face, James exclaimed as he ran past her,

"Hi, Sofia! Bye, Sofia!"

When Roland heard James' greeting and subsequent farewell, he looked over at Sofia, who was not as happy as she was when he'd last seen her. Her head hung low, with only a quivering frown visible due to her hair obscuring the rest of her face.

"Sofia? What's got you looking so down?" Roland asked, concernedly.

"I said something that made Mom sad." Sofia frowned.

This was most certainly a surprise to the King, for he'd never imagine in all his years that he'd see the day that Sofia would say something that would make her mother genuinely sad. Still curious as to what exactly she said, Roland inquired,

"What was it that made her sad?"

"I told her that there were rumors going around about James and Zandar really liking each other." Sofia answered.

This startling new development caused Roland's heart to sink. He didn't know if it was their being together that caused her such sadness, but one thing he knew for sure was that she found out about James and Zandar in the worst way possible, and now she knew that he had **lied** to her about it after giving his word.

When Sofia saw her Father so distressed, she cried,

"Now you're sad too! Maybe I should just stop talking!" After she had said this, she ran away. The King couldn't actually see if she was crying, but somehow he knew.

"Sofia! Wait!" Roland called, but it was already too late. She was gone. Probably headed off to her room to talk to her little animal friends about what was bothering her, he assumed. "It's a bit odd," He thought, "for a princess to talk to animals as if she was having a real conversation with them..." He continued to ponder this, before deciding that—if it helped—he had no right to take that away from her. "Especially after all that's happened recently..." He added.

After awhile, he resumed making his way to the Master Bedroom. Too busy to dread what would become of his relationship with Miranda—and what would become of James—to move faster, or wonder how those rumors got out in the first place. But, before he made it, he once again bumped into someone. This time, it was a very confused Baileywick.

"My King, you look stressed! What seems to be the problem?" The Castle Steward asked.

"... I'd rather not talk about it right now." Roland admitted.

"Now, now, my King, there's no need to be like that. You can tell me anything." Baileywick assured the King, not realizing that he was being serious.

"Baileywick, really, I don't want to talk about it right now. I need to see Miranda, and, if you'll excuse me, that's what I'll do." The King explained, his patience wearing thin.

Shocked at this sudden loss of temper, Baileywick quickly stepped out of the King's way. He knew his King, and if something was making him this upset, it had to be serious.

When the King had finally made it to the door, he paused for a moment, before knocking on the door and calling,

"Miranda? May I come in?"

After a long while, he heard a soft "... Yes..." and entered the room.

When he had entered, his wife's back was facing him. Her arms folded in betrayal and angst. There was a long, deafening silence before Miranda said anything. Roland had many things he wanted to tell his Queen, but couldn't. Something inside of him was telling him not to talk. Perpetuating the torturous silence.

"You lied to me..." She whimpered. Finally breaking the silence.

"Yes... I did." Roland confirmed, though she already knew what she had said was correct. After a long pause, he began to add an apology, before being interrupted, "I'm sorry, Mir-"

"Please, Rollie, just stop." Miranda said. She wasn't necessarily in the mood for apologies at that moment in time. Given the circumstance, Roland could hardly blame her. She'd spent days worrying over whether or not he'd been lying to her, and now her worries were justified. Now the truth had been revealed. She was right, and she couldn't have been more unhappy with that fact.

"... Okay." Roland sorrowfully complied.

It had been a long day. Perhaps some lowly servant had a worse day, perhaps someone living in the village was having even less luck with their day, but at this point Miranda wasn't thinking about lowly servants or the people at the village. All she was thinking about—all she _**could**_ think about at that moment in time—was one question. A question she had for the King.

"Is he here?"

"... Yes." Roland answered.

"I want to talk to him." The Queen stated, firmly. In a way that no doubt was meant to imply that she was expecting the King to bring him to her.

"... Okay." Roland replied, leaving the room to get his son.

This wasn't what he wanted to happen. This wasn't what he wanted to happen at all. All he wanted was to get closer to his children. All he wanted was to be a better father... he never thought this would happen. He never thought he'd happen to see James and Zandar holding hands, he never thought he'd keep it from the rest of the family, he never thought he would **lie** to his Queen, his wife, Miranda. But now all this was happening, and he still couldn't believe it, even as it happened right before his eyes. It was as if he was stuck in a nightmare, and it was only getting worse by the minute.

When he finally got to the door to James' room, the King reluctantly knocked on the door. He was promptly greeted by an anxious prince, who asked,

"So? How did it go?"

The King sighed, admitting to his child,

"Not very good..." After a deep breath, he added, "Your Mother wants to talk to you."

"... What does she want to talk about?" James asked, slowly realizing the weight of the current situation.

"... She didn't say... but I think this is about you and Zandar." Roland stated.

That last part caused a silence between the two. Fear began to build up in James' heart, fear that everything his father had previously warned him could happen was going to happen. Fear that his mother wouldn't understand. With all these fears building up, the Prince couldn't help but ask,

"... So is this what you were talking about earlier?"

"What do you mean?" The King inquired.

"Is this what you were talking about earlier, back at the playground? About Mom not understanding?" James earnestly asked.

"Well, James, she... it wasn't entirely clear." Roland admitted.

"What if she is?" James wondered aloud.

"Well don't you remember what I told you, a few weeks ago?" Roland asked.

"That I can come to you and you'll settle it?" James answered, in the form of a question.

"That's right." Roland answered.

"Okay. Thanks, Dad." James replied in gratitude. His mood lightened significantly by his father's promise.

"It's the least I can do." Roland smiled.

Then James left to go speak with his Mother. With the extra time left on his hands, Roland decided he'd use the time to think.

"What have I done..." The King lamented. It seemed as if there were hundreds of ways he could've avoided this situation, now that he could see it all in hindsight. He could've gone over the many ways, but it would only be a waste of time. What was done was done, and there was nothing he could do about it now. At this point, all he could hope to do was be there for James and hope for the best.

As he delved further into his thoughts, he began to ponder on what could have started the rumor about James and Zandar, before immediately disregarding it. "It doesn't matter. The truth is out." He thought to himself.

"Why do I have such problems with the truth?" He wondered. But, before he could dwell on it any further, James came running out of the Master Bedroom.

"James?" Roland reacted. Puzzled by this development.

"Dad, she doesn't understand!" James exclaimed in horror.

When he heard this, he turned toward Miranda, who was just coming out of the Master Bedroom herself. A look of betrayal grew on his face, as he questioned, "... Is he telling the truth, Miranda."

"Rollie, please, just let me-" Miranda started, before being interrupted by Roland restating his question.

"**Is he telling the truth.**" He asked.

Miranda sighed and finally conceded, "If your definition of 'understand' is me being fine with James having a boyfriend, then no. I don't understand."

"Why?" Roland asked.

"Rollie, you don't have to play innocent and ask what you already know. You and I both know why I don't 'understand.' I was taught why by my parents, and you're royalty. You **couldn't** be at this position if you didn't already know what is or isn't allowed in this kingdom and why. In short: It's unnatural, it's inappropriate, and it's immoral."

"... I know what I was taught." Roland admitted, "But I also know that discriminating against someone for something they have no control over is wrong."

"Discriminating!? I'm parenting! James is doing something I don't approve of, and I'm telling him no!" Miranda argued.

"Well I'm telling him yes! I'm not going to ask him to deny who he is! It's damaging!" Roland argued back.

Miranda started to yell, but then took a look back to James, who was growing increasingly uncomfortable around his arguing parents. Realizing this, Miranda asked, "Can we take this somewhere else?"

"Oh don't you try to get out of this. I'm not budging until you've rejected these damaging beliefs!" Roland spat.

"You want to know what's damaging? Having a heated argument in front of your child." Miranda pointed out.

Roland's eyes lit up in shock, as he turned back to James, who was nearly in tears. "... Very well." Roland conceded, finally. "James, I hope you can forgive me. I'm going to talk to your Mother about this more, and we're going to get this settled."

"... There's one more thing." James said.

"Hmm?" Roland said, turning back toward James to hear what else there was to be said.

"She doesn't want me to see Zandar anymore." James stated.

"What?" Roland reacted, turning toward Miranda in expectation of a confirmation.

"Please, Rollie, can we just take this somewhere-" Miranda started, before being interrupted once again.

"No, I need to know now." Roland stated firmly.

"... Yes. I want him to stop seeing Zandar from now on." Miranda admitted.

"Tell her she can't do that, Dad! Tell her!" James said, desperation growing in his voice.

"James, sweetie, it's getting late. You should go to bed." Miranda said.

"But I'm not sleepy!" James retorted.

"James, did you hear what I said? Go to bed." Miranda ordered.

"No! I'm not listening to you!" James said, tears welling-up in his eyes.

"James, I am your Mother and-"

"**YOU'RE NOT MY MOM!**" James screamed. His eyes flooding with tears as he ran away.

Miranda was shocked into complete silence. She had no idea where this came from. As far as she knew, it never came up before right then, which would've puzzled her, had she not been so hurt.

Roland's eyes widened as he stood, watching his son run away from his Mother. An image he thought he'd never live to see happen to his own family, but there it was. Then he remembered James' mother, his wife. He began to weaken, which lead to him turning to his wife for comfort, only to see her weakening as well.

"... I don't want to be a bad stepmother..." She said, weakly. Tears forming under her eyes.

Miranda was always an avid reader of fairy tales as a child. She loved all of them, but her favorite was always the story of Cinderella. Sure, Cinderella wasn't quite the most proactive female role-model that a child such as herself at the time could have, but that never stopped her from loving the story despite that fact. One part of the story she didn't like, however, was the villain, Cinderella's evil stepmother. She **hated** her. She hated her more than any other character she had read at the time. Growing up in a loving family, with a wonderful mother, Miranda always hated how Cinderella's stepmother was so uncaring, so unsympathetic, so... **evil.** This lead to her promising to herself—albeit, at a very young age, but that didn't stop her from holding herself to it from then on—that, if she became a stepmother, she would be nicer than that other evil one.

But... now she wasn't sure if she was keeping that promise anymore. Now James hated her, just as she had hated Cinderella's stepmother when she was his age. Had she become that evil stepmother?

Noticing her very emotional state, Roland held her close to him. Softly assuring her, "Hey... you're not a bad stepmother. James was just really upset and said something he didn't mean."

"Oh Rollie..." Miranda cried. Her voice slightly muffled since her head was nuzzled in Roland's chest. After a minute or two, she asked, "... What are we going to do?"

"... I'll talk to him." Roland said, before adding, "But I'm not going to tell him to stop liking Zandar."

"Nevermind that, we can talk about that later. I just want my son back!" The Queen sobbed.

"Okay..." Roland replied, bringing her closer.

"... Why did you lie to me, Rollie?" She asked one last time.

"I don't know..." He replied.

Then there was that deafening silence again. This one seemed to go on for an eternity. Of course, that was not the case, as Miranda eventually stated,

"... I think you should go talk to him now."

Roland sighed. Once again, he could've thought of hundreds of ways he could've avoided this, but it wouldn't have mattered. Dejectedly, he replied, "... Agreed." He turned to leave, not even thinking of looking back to see his wife, who was probably still crying. "Why is it that every time I try to fix this, it only gets worse?" He asked himself, before deciding that feeling bad for himself wouldn't help either, and discarding the question.

This was much, **much** harder than he thought it would be.

* * *

**Author's Notes: **And it is done, finally. Seriously, these chapters are taking longer and longer to finish! :O Gonna have to fix that...

Anyway, yeah. This was kinda sorta partially based on coming-out to my own parents. Heck, you could say that for this whole story. My dad was fine with it, but my mom was... less than enthusiastic about it.

… You could also say this story is therapy for me. It probably is.

That said, I'm gonna try my best to make this a good story despite how close I am to it! I could use a little help with that, though, since I'm still relatively new to writing, so please let me know how I can improve and/or what you think of the story at this point in a PM, or—if you can't PM—in your review, if you want to review it. Speaking of which...

Any and all reviews, favorites, and follows are appreciated! If you like it, great! If you don't like it, tell me how I could improve it, please! Thanks! :D


	5. Trials Part 3

"James, I know you're in there. I just want to talk." Roland said, speaking in front of the young Prince's locked door.

"... Is the Queen with you?" James asked.

"_The Queen!?"_ Roland thought to himself, baffled by James referring to his own Mother by her royal title. But, before he let himself reply, he came to the conclusion that now really wasn't the time to upset the Prince, and conceded, "... No, she isn't with me."

It was true. Miranda was not there with the King. She was still trying to cope after what James had said to her earlier that same night. After he practically disowned her, or, at least, that's what she was thinking at the time. Ever since she became their new Mother, she had hopes that she would have a good relationship with her stepchildren. Hopes that were all but dashed when James screamed in her face, "**YOU'RE NOT MY MOM!**"

After Roland had confirmed that Miranda wasn't with him, he could hear footsteps coming from the other side of the door. They came slowly, almost as if James' feet were anchored to the floor. Then he could hear the door being unlocked. Immediately, he opened the door as soon as it was unlocked, which led to him being greeted by the face of a hurt child.

It wasn't a pretty one.

Tears continually ran down the young Prince's cheeks. His nose had gotten congested, which made his sour mood very apparent to anyone who was there. His face was still rather tensed up from what felt like a permanent frown stuck on his face, which did nothing to help his mood either. And if that hadn't already given Roland enough clues as to how James was feeling, the boy's now-reddened eyes would have. Anguish, Confusion, Sadness, and Betrayal. All were clearly visible in James' eyes.

After seeing all this, Roland struggled to find the words he had previously planned to say. In his head, he caused this. He was responsible for all the hurt James was going through. He almost broke down right there, before reminding himself of why he was there. Regardless of his past failings, he was going to set things right.

"James, I'd like to talk to you about what you said to your Mother earlier." The King stated.

"She isn't my Mom." James sulked. Melancholy had settled in place of the upset tone James previously had when he retreated back to his room.

"James..." The King sighed, before saying, "James, I know she's upset you too, but that's no reason to act like she isn't your Mother. Like it or not, James, she _**is**_ your Mother now, and you have to respect that. Okay?"

There was a long pause. James seemed too lost in his thoughts to notice he'd been addressed, which caused Roland to grow concerned and say, "James?"

"Okay." The Prince finally answered. Though, the King couldn't bring himself to feel relieved. James sounded worse than he looked, if that was even possible.

"James, are you okay?" Roland asked. James sullenly shook his head, which prompted Roland's next question, "What's wrong?"

Without saying a word, James got up. Slowly, he walked over to a dresser to grab a picture that, at the time, Roland couldn't quite make out the details of. Once the Prince had gotten hold of the picture, he walked back to where the King was, to show him what was bothering him. Roland's eyesight evidently wasn't as good as it once was, as he had to lean a little closer and squint so he could see the picture, but, immediately upon doing so, he wished he hadn't. It was an old family portrait of him, James, Amber, and... her.

"I miss her, Dad." James choked out, on the verge of tears.

Roland immediately wrapped his arms around James in a tight hug. Nothing else was said for a long time, for the hug was all the communication they needed. Tears were shed (more from James than Roland), and they both seemed to let out all of their pent-up emotions over the death of the Wife, Queen, and Mother, in the hug.

With a lump in his throat, Roland struggled, but eventually managed to say, "I miss her too, Son... I miss her too..." Up until then, Roland had never allowed himself to get truly emotional over her death. He was too proud to fall prey to such 'weak' emotions, he would think, but that no longer mattered to him. Not now, anyway.

James, however, had only just begun to realize the full weight of his poor Mother's death. When she died, he was still very young. Still too innocent to fully understand the cruel reality of death. Now, with his tenth birthday coming up, he was finally realizing that his Mother was **gone,** and that she wasn't going to come back like the fairy tales of his early childhood said she would.

But, like all times of great sadness, it didn't last forever. The King, being the older and more mature of the two, was the first to regain his composure, although it still took quite while for him to do so. Even so, he maintained the intense hug, in an effort to comfort his son. An effort that succeeded, as James eventually stopped crying as well. Once they had both fully recovered, James said,

"Hey, Dad?"

"Yes, James?" Roland replied.

"Can I talk with Miranda?" James asked.

Roland briefly smiled at James referring to his Mother as 'Miranda' instead of 'Queen'. It was certainly an improvement, he thought inwardly, before outwardly inquiring, "Why?"

"Well..." James paused, before stating, "... I want to apologize to her. For how I've been acting."

A warm, content smile grew on the King's face. "Of course you can, James." Roland answered.

* * *

It had been maybe an hour or two, but the shock of it still hadn't left her. She still couldn't believe that James had screamed at her... that he said what he said in the first place...

... That she lost her son, and had possibly become what she hated most: An evil Stepmother.

What had she done to cause all this, she continually asked herself. Miranda was, admittedly, human, so she could be forgiven for not considering the possibility that it may have been her disapproval of him and Zandar's relationship. However, she came close, thinking,

"Maybe saying I didn't want James to see Zandar anymore wasn't the best thing I could've done at the time..."

Perhaps she _was_ going a tad too far with that, she pondered. After all, even though she didn't approve of their relationship, that didn't mean they needed to stay away from each other. Maybe there _was_ an apology in order, and not just from James...

... Still, that "**YOU'RE NOT MY MOM!**" line was uncalled-for.

Suddenly, she heard footsteps. Then, right before her eyes, there stood James. Dried-up tears left on his cheeks, assumably from crying.

The Prince slowly walked up to his Mother, guilt very evident in each step he took.

"I'm... sorry." James apologized sincerely.

Miranda took one look at her Son, then knelt down to his level and hugged him. "You're forgiven." Miranda smiled, then added, "And I'm sorry for asking you to stop seeing Zandar."

"... Well, I forgive you too." James said. Warmly smiling back at the Queen, and returning the hug. "So does this mean you're okay with me and Zandar liking each other?" James innocently asked.

Miranda grew uncomfortable after this question was asked. She looked past James, at Roland, who was standing by the door. Subtly signalling for Roland to excuse James out of the room so they could talk.

Roland apparently got the message, as he promptly asked James, "Are you feeling any sleepier?"

"A little, yeah...?" James replied. Ignorant of what his Father was getting at.

Spotting Baileywick off the corner of his eye, the King spontaneously asked him, "Baileywick? What time is it?"

Baileywick blinked for a moment. Taken aback by his majesty's spontaneity. After he'd successfully regained his composure, he checked his pocket watch and replied, "It's twelve o'clock at night, sire."

"Then it's way past your bedtime, James." Roland stated, turning to face his Son. "You've had a long day. Go get some rest." He smiled.

James would've protested, but he was too tired, so he sleepily walked back to his bedroom with Baileywick's aid.

With that out of the way, Roland faced Miranda, who seemed to be dreading this conversation as much as he was. Nevertheless, it needed to be had, he thought.

"So..." Roland awkwardly started, without actually intending on adding anything after it.

Miranda sighed and said, "Rollie, honey, I think we both know we're not gonna change each other's minds by the end of tonight. Can we just skip this and go to bed?"

Roland thought for a moment and shrugged. "Sure." He yawned.

As they got under the covers of their king-sized bed, Miranda suddenly got a warm feeling inside of her. Despite everything that had happened that day... she still loved her life very much. She was Queen of Enchancia, had three wonderful children and a handsome, loving husband...

A wide smile grew on her face as she thought of her King, whom she loved dearly. Feeling almost as if Love itself compelled her to do so, she whispered in Roland's ear, "No matter how this 'James and Zandar' thing turns out, I'll love you."

Warmly smiling back at his wife, Roland added, "And I'll love you too."

Miranda softly gave Roland a goodnight kiss on the cheek, then slowly drifted into sleep with her husband's arms wrapped lovingly around her.

* * *

**Author's Notes:** Hey, we actually got a happy ending for this chapter! :D We don't get a lot of those from me anymore...

Anyway, yeah. Chapter Five is complete, and so ends the 'Trials' series of chapters!... Yeah, I know this chapter was kinda shorter than the others. Sorry.

I'd like to thank authors like blossom2014, Luiz4200, StoryWizard2000, and newcomer TheSlytherianPrincess for—one way or another—inspiring me to keep on writing. I'm just utterly stupefied by all the talent, kindness, and warmth that's surrounded me on this site. All of you are amazing, and I'm honored to call you my peers. :) ... Well, more like _superiors._ XD

And, of course: Each and every review, favorite, and follow is very appreciated! Thank you to all the people on this site who've supported me! :D


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